Top 10: Dangerous Festivals

Are you an adrenaline junkie? Do you get a high from flirting with death or putting others at risk? If so, pay attention, because the location of your next vacation might be revealed in this article.

Every so often, you'll catch an offbeat news story about a wacky festival that irresponsibly puts people in danger. Despite frequent injuries and fatalities, these events attract loads of tourists and, due to their high cultural, religious and/or traditional significance, there is no sign that they will be halted any time soon.

In recognition of their popularity, I tallied the 10 most dangerous festivals in the world and ranked them from least to most life-threatening. Enjoy... if you dare.

Number 10

The Baby-Jumping Colacho Festival

Castrillo de Murcia, Spain: Feast of Corpus Christi (the Thursday after Trinity Sunday)

The phrase "sleepy little town" is not appropriate for this Spanish hamlet, thanks to its strange annual summer event. In celebration of the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi, grown men dressed as the devil leap over newborns, with full parental consent. Donning scary costumes and wielding whips and truncheons, the men attempt to "cleanse" the babies of all evil, and tradition dictates that negligently leaping over them is the best way to achieve this.

The town has observed the strange practice (called El Colacho) since 1620, though its origins remain a mystery. The brotherhood of Santissimo Sacramento de Minerva oversees the event and proceeds to terrorize not only babies, but any onlookers who seem to be in need of a quick exorcism.

What not to miss: On the Sunday following Corpus Christi, the event reaches its climax, so this is the day to come out and watch baby-jumping in all its glory.

Number 9

Kirkpinar Wrestling Festival

Kirkpinar, Turkey: end of June/beginning of July

Turkey is known for its affinity for wrestling, and at no other time is this national obsession so obvious than during the Kirkpinar Wrestling Festival. In the 14th century, two warriors fighting before the son of the Ottoman Sultan sparred so heartily that they both died of exhaustion. In honor of this devotion to the sport, the city of Kirkpinar has held a tournament ever since.

Turkish wrestling is unlike Olympic wrestling, in that each participant's style is different and there are virtually no rules. The three-day event fields up to 20 no-holds-barred two-man matches at a time, where duels feature ear-pulling, head-slapping and (brace yourself) testicle-grabbing. What's more, contestants slather their bodies in olive oil before stepping in the ring, making the goal of the match — grabbing your opponent's leather strap, which is worn between the legs, and overcoming him — all the more difficult.

What not to miss: In a move that'll make you cringe, wrestlers reach down in their opponent's pants in an effort to grab the leather strap, or kisbet. It's a disturbing yet captivating highlight.

Number 8

Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling Contest

Gloucester, England: final Monday in May

Yes, it's a random event, but in Britain it's taken very seriously. Every spring in Gloucester, thousands of people gather to watch dozens of men and women chase a seven- to eight-pound Double Gloucester cheese 200 yards down an almost-vertical slope. Records indicate that the event has been held annually for the last two centuries, while many others believe the race's roots go even deeper.

The goal of the contest is to see who can get to the cheese first, risking their limbs doing so. You'd think that, considering the risks involved (18 racers suffered injuries, including broken bones and head trauma, in a melee in 1997), the first-place prize would be great, but all the winner gets is, oddly enough, the very cheese he or she was chasing.

What not to miss: The tumble down the hill, where contestants are at the mercy of the unforgiving hill... and gravity.

From bull riding to pole fighting, these festivals should come with warning signs...